Santorum, lagging behind Perry and several other candidates in the polls, is hoping to sully the Texas governor's reputation among socially conservative caucus-goers in Iowa by raising questions about his opposition to same-sex marriage. Both men will likely be competing for support among evangelical Christians.FULL POST

At a small gathering of voters at a coffee shop in Johnston, Iowa on Monday, the former Minnesota governor was told by a supporter in the crowd, “You’ve got to be up there and give them hell.”FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - If there is any silver lining to the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, it might be that it increases the pressure on a special congressional committee tasked with drafting a long-term solution to the nation's mounting federal deficits.

Under the debt ceiling deal passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last week, a panel of 12 legislators - six Democrats and six Republicans, equally divided between the House and Senate - will be created to try to work out $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction after an initial round of more than $900 billion in spending cuts.

(CNN) – When President Barack Obama started speaking at the White House at 1:52 p.m. today, the Dow Jones was down around 400 points. When he wrapped up 10 minutes later, it was down around 430 points. And when the market closed at 4 p.m., the Dow was down 635 points for the day – a drop of more than 5.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index was down nearly 6.9% for the day. The S&P 500 was down 6.7%. In short, it was a horrendous day on Wall Street – as it was earlier in Europe and Asia.

It's certainly not fair to blame only the president for this awful downslide. There are limits to what he can do in the current economic and political climate. There is plenty of blame to go around – including to congressional Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - About half the schools in Tennessee didn't meet the annual yearly progress requirements of the No Child Left Behind law last year. Tennessee is not alone.

Saying schools are struggling to meet the student progress requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, the White House announced Monday it would be signing waivers that will relieve schools of some of the key provisions of the law.

Washington (CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Monday they are ending the House page program, which employs about 70 high school age students each semester and summer to study in Washington and serve as messengers around the Capitol complex.

The program, instituted in the 1820s, has come under fire several times for scandals involving inappropriate contact with members, as well as underage drinking and drug use. In 2006 reports surfaced that then Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley had sent several inappropriate messages of a sexual nature to former House pages.FULL POST

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman wrapped up his second day campaigning in South Carolina Monday defending his support of Washington's debt-ceiling deal.

"Is it perfect? Of course not," Huntsman told reporters. "Everybody's upset so that probably represents one step in the right direction, but we have many more yet to come if we're going to deal seriously with a country that is in serious, serious economic jeopardy."FULL POST

(CNN) – The fallout from the Wisconsin saga over collective bargaining rights that ignited in February continues Tuesday with six recall elections.

Six incumbent Republican state senators are targeted in the contests. Republicans hope to retain the majority in the state Senate, which they currently hold 19-14. Democrats are angling for GOP-held seats to capture control of the upper chamber.FULL POST